Transport Department officials, meanwhile, took the same stance as they did for the issue in Discovery Bay - saying the cut in ferry services was not within the department's jurisdiction.

Tsuen Wan district councillor Michael Tien Puk-sun attended the meetings as a mediator. He said: "Ma Wan is different from Discovery Bay in that it must provide reasonable ferry services to Central only, not Tsuen Wan. But to have a better chance at selling the property, SHKP offered services to Tsuen Wan. When it announced it had to cut back, there was an uproar."